Processing Set up for Door Blanks

[Kevaleru]

Hello,

I am starting a new workshop (previously had a plywood factory), but I wanted to run by my processing line with some of you with more knowledge before I finalise my machine orders. There might be a better way of doing things that I am unaware of.

We are planning on making Pine Doors (mainly Door "Blanks" think Door sized table tops), which will have designs put on them through our CNC machines.

Process:
1. Buy rough sawn 180mm-200mm Pine (roughly 20-25% moisture content)(thickness varies due to local sawmills, 55mm-60mm)
2. Put the wood into the kiln (self built gasifier boiler heated)
3. After drying, process the wood into S4S using a 4 Sided Moulder
4. Glue boards into panel using 4 way pressure clamps (Dowel, Domino or Spline Joints, possibly T&G)
5. Sand Panels into door blanks
6. Use door blanks with CNC machines for design
7. Doors go into spray booth for varnish and final finishing

[Special orders using hardwoods, mainly mahogany in our country, will be put though Surface Planers and thickness planers and Sized with a Table saw instead of the 4 sided moulder, as these pieces would vary in size and orders would be less common]

I have knowledge from my days with the plywood factory, but in terms of panel making, I am still fairly new. I could be doing everything completely wrong here but I honestly don't know if I am.

We are purchasing the following machines for the above purpose:

1. 4-Sided Moulder/Planer
2. Thicknesser/Surface Planer (Combi)
3. Panel Saw
4. Table Saw
5. Vertical Bandsaw
6. Spindle Moulder
7. Manual Belt Polisher/Sander
8. Knife Sharpener
9. Radial Arm Saw
10. Drill Press
11. Wood Lathe
12. Chisel Mortiser
13. *possibly a 48" thickness planer*


I may have put this in the wrong section, if so I apologise. And if this isn't the type of things to ask here i also apologise.

Any help is greatly appreciated

[Don P]

I would contact the Furniture Manufacturing and Management dept at NC State University and have a talk with them.

I've worked in a shop that used a molder and glue jointer for panel layup and prep. I've also worked in a shop that used a straight line rip saw. I think that is probably a faster, higher utilization, way to defect your way through the lumber. I think Id try a crosscut first operation, then the defecting rip/joint of random width. We used a glue jointer in another shop, I think a better finish but slower/another operation, for marginally better results. Molders want to be fed uniform width, generally wasteful of resource but think that through, if softwood coming in at a width it has already been a rip first operation.

In both shops we then went to radio frequency glue machines that applied the glue, had a layup table, clamped and cooked the glue in under a minute, opened and kicked out the panel(s), we would crank in the next load, and repeat. There are a number of adhesive choices and then experimentation/ dialing in your process, there will be time and waste involved, I'd suggest a shop "lab" of some sort to be able to bust some panels in a controlled way to see how you are doing.

From there we went either to a double end tenoner or shop made panel saws then a wide belt sander and then to further processing. That has been decades ago. We wwere lucky enough to have interns from that University program working in those shops so had question and answer opportunity either from them or their teachers. At least at the time they were happy to have "projects" for the students to think about and plan.

Good luck, sounds like fun.

Edit... 
Is the plywood equipment still there? If so with a cnc, do you think about CLT's?

[Kevaleru]

I really like that shop "lab" idea for sure.

there are some limiting factors with our shop, we are firstly based in East Africa, so we have limited access to the glues and equipment available.

I managed to strike a deal with the people supplying us our rough cut timber to reduce the margins and gives us standard sizing from their shop. Hopefully this reduces waste on the moulder.

We have managed to get in contact with someone supplying a weinig 7 spindle moulder ($13,000) at the same price it would cost us to import a Chinese 4 spindle machine and have duties paid on it. We may go for the weinig, it opens up other possibilities for our shop too.

We shall be getting a rip saw regardless. The same supplier is able to supply us with all European 2nd hand machinery (far better than what i would have imported from China or India I feel), he was definitely a lucky find I think.